If you’re tired of buying stale lead lists or slogging through LinkedIn for hours, you’re not alone. Most premade B2B lists are full of outdated data, and many scraping tools just dump a mess of contacts your way. This guide is for folks who want a smarter, more targeted approach—skip the fluff, get the leads you actually want, and don’t spend all week doing it.
We’ll walk through using ScrapeLi, a tool that pulls info from LinkedIn and lets you get really granular with your searches. If you’re a founder, sales pro, or marketer who cares about quality over quantity, read on.
1. Know What You Want—Don’t Skip This Step
Don’t just fire up a tool and start scraping every VP you see. Before you touch ScrapeLi, get clear about:
- Who do you want? (Role, industry, company size, location)
- Why them? (Pain points, buying power, relevance)
- What info do you really need? (Just emails? LinkedIn URLs? Phone numbers? Be honest.)
Jot these down. You’ll save time and avoid a list full of useless contacts.
Pro tip: Don’t aim for 10,000 leads if you only have the bandwidth to reach out to 100. Quality trumps quantity every time.
2. Get Set Up with ScrapeLi
Head to ScrapeLi and sign up if you haven’t already. It’s a browser-based tool (no downloads or sketchy Chrome extensions). You’ll need:
- A LinkedIn account—free is fine, but Sales Navigator is better for deeper searches.
- Credits in ScrapeLi, depending on how many leads you want to pull.
Heads up: ScrapeLi’s pricing is pay-as-you-go. Don’t buy more credits than you need. It’s easy to overestimate.
3. Use LinkedIn to Build Your Search
ScrapeLi works by piggybacking on LinkedIn’s own filters. This is where most people mess up—if your LinkedIn search is too broad, your results will be a mess.
Nail Down Advanced Filters
Here’s where you get specific. Inside LinkedIn (or Sales Navigator):
- Job Title: Don’t just use “Manager”—try “IT Manager” or “Head of Operations.”
- Industry: Use LinkedIn’s built-in categories. “Computer Software” is better than “Technology.”
- Location: Get as narrow as you need—city, state, or region.
- Company Size: Useful if you only want SMBs or enterprises.
- Keywords: Add terms that matter to your niche (“cloud security,” “DevOps,” etc.).
- Seniority Level: C-level, VP, Director—whatever fits your target.
What to ignore: Don’t obsess over every filter. The more filters you stack, the fewer results you’ll get. If you end up with 12 people, you’ve gone too narrow.
Pro tip: Do a few test searches. If your LinkedIn search returns a couple hundred good-looking profiles, you’re on the right track.
4. Copy Your Search URL into ScrapeLi
Once your LinkedIn or Sales Navigator results look good, copy the URL from your browser’s address bar.
- In ScrapeLi, paste this URL into the “Search” field.
- Choose how many profiles to pull. (Don’t just max it out—remember, you pay per lead.)
- Pick what data you want: names, emails, companies, job titles, etc.
Don’t get greedy: Pulling emails is tempting, but not everyone lists theirs. Expect a match rate between 20–60% for verified emails, depending on your niche.
5. Fine-Tune with ScrapeLi’s Advanced Filters
Here’s where ScrapeLi earns its keep. After you paste your search, you can refine inside ScrapeLi before you scrape:
- Exclude companies or keywords: Filter out competitors or irrelevant industries.
- Include only with email: Cut profiles that don’t have an email address (though this can shrink your list a lot).
- Seniority/role filters: Double-check you’re not pulling interns or unrelated roles.
- Custom field mapping: If you want fields for CRM import, map them here.
Real talk: ScrapeLi’s filters are good, but not magical. If your LinkedIn search is junk, no amount of filtering will save you. Garbage in, garbage out.
6. Start the Scrape—But Watch the Limits
Hit “Start.” ScrapeLi will chew through your search and pull the data.
- You’ll see progress in real time.
- If you’re scraping a lot of profiles, do it in batches. Too much at once can get your LinkedIn account rate-limited.
- Download results as CSV when done.
What works: Smaller, more focused batches mean less chance of getting flagged by LinkedIn and cleaner data.
What doesn’t: Trying to “hack” LinkedIn’s limits by scraping thousands at once. You’ll get throttled, and your account could be restricted.
7. Clean and Validate Your Lead List
Don’t trust raw data. Even the best scraper can’t protect you from typos, junk emails, or outdated info.
- Check for duplicates. ScrapeLi helps, but always double-check in Excel or Google Sheets.
- Remove obvious junk. No emails, weird job titles, or companies that don’t fit.
- Verify emails. Use a tool like NeverBounce or Zerobounce. Otherwise, expect bounces and spam traps.
Pro tip: If you’re importing into a CRM or outreach tool, clean up column headers and make sure you don’t have funky formatting.
8. Segment and Prioritize Your Leads
Now comes the part everyone skips but shouldn’t: segmentation.
- Break lists by role, industry, or region. Makes outreach more personal and effective.
- Score leads. Give a simple 1–5 score based on fit, or label as “A/B/C.”
- Ditch the low-fit contacts. If someone clearly isn’t a fit, don’t waste time.
What works: Laser-focused outreach to small, well-defined segments gets better replies than generic spam.
9. Don’t Get Cute—Reach Out the Right Way
You have your list. Don’t blow it with lazy outreach.
- Personalize every email or LinkedIn message. Reference something relevant—role, company, industry news.
- Don’t mass-blast. Even the best lists won’t save you from generic templates.
- Track responses and bounce rates. Adjust your list or messaging as you go.
What to ignore: Tools that promise “AI-personalized” outreach with zero effort. Most of it sounds robotic and gets ignored.
10. Rinse, Repeat, Improve
No list is perfect. Markets shift, people change jobs, and what worked last month might flop now.
- Set a schedule to refresh your list. Monthly or quarterly works for most.
- Keep notes on what filters produced the best leads. Over time, you’ll spot patterns.
- Stay out of LinkedIn jail. Don’t over-scrape. If you get warnings, back off.
Summary: Keep It Simple, Iterate Often
Building a targeted B2B lead list isn’t rocket science, but it’s not mindless busywork either. Start with a sharp idea of who you want, use ScrapeLi’s filters to zero in, and don’t skip the cleanup. Skip the hype, skip the shortcuts, and focus on quality. You’ll get better leads—and waste less time—than 90% of your competitors.
Now, go build your list. Then, actually use it.